Refrigerating apparatus mounting means



P 21, 1954 c. H. wu'rz 2,689,464

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS MOUNTING MEANS Filed April 25, 1952 INVENTOR. Clifford H. Wurfz Patented Sept. 21, 1954 REFRIGERATlNG APPARATUS MOUNTING MEANS Clifford H. Wurtz, Oak

wood, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a

corporation oi-Delawaie Application April 25, 1952, SerialNo. 284,321

This invention relates to refrigerating apparahis and more particularly to a suspension arrangement for compressors and the like.

It has been standard practice to provide elaborate compressor mounting arrangements in refrigeratorsfor home use so as to isolate the compressor vibrations and noises. These mounting arrangements usually consist of coil springs which support the compressor in the machinery compartment of the cabinet plus rubber buffers or snubbers for limiting the extent of vibration and for absorbing shock during shipment. In

. addition to the above mounting arrangements,

it has-been common practice to provide holddown bolts which are supposed to be removed when the refrigerator is placed in its permanent location. Such compressor mounting arrangements and hold-down bolts involve considerable expense 'andinconvenience.

Itis an object of this invention to materially simplify the compressor mounting arrangement and at the same time eliminate the need for special hold-down bolts during shipment.

Another object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive but rugged mounting bracket which has the necessary resiliency and sound deadening properties for use in supporting a refrigerant compressor or the like on a fixed support.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing a preferred embodiment of the compressor mounting arrangement;

Figure 2 is an elevational view with parts broken away taken substantially at right angles to Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a top view with a portion broken V away showing the compressor mounting bracket per se.

Referring now to the drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed, reference numeral Ill designates a rigid mounting frame on which there is supported a sealed motor-compressor unit l2 and a heat exchange coil such as a condenser I4. The frame I is mounted in the machinery compartment of the refrigerator cabinet II. For purposes of illustrating the invention the motor-compressor unit II has been shown as a hermetically sealed unit having heat radiating fins Hi whereas certain 3 Claims. (01. 62-116) features of the invention are equallyapplicable to other types of compressors or .power units such as motors, belt driven compressors and the. like.

As best indicated in Figure 2 of the drawing, a pair of L-shaped mounting clips 20 are secured to the heatradiating fin [6 on opposite sides of the unit I2. Resilient mountingb'ra'ckets 2.4 are used to supportthe unit l2 on the frame Ill. Each of these mounting brackets comprises a substantially c-shaped strap having its one arm secured to the frame l0 and its other arm secured to one of the mounting clips 20. Rubber or rubber like washers 26 are provided asshown between the mounting bracket and the parts to which the mounting bracket is secured. Bolts 30 are used for holding the parts in assembled relationship. Figures shows one ofthe plastic straps orbrackets of the preferred type having glass fibers 32 embedded in the plastic. These glass fibers are, of course, much closer together than could be illustrated in the drawing.

The mounting brackets 24 must have a combination of properties including those of strength, heat resistance, elasticity and sound deadening properties. It has been found that G-shaped mounting brackets made of a polyester resin such as polystyrene and glass fibers have the necessary combination of properties for use in mounting motor-compressor units whereby it is no longer necessary to use coil springs and rubber buffers for mounting the compressor. Furthermore it is not necessary to use hold-down bolts to protect the assembly against shocks which may be encountered in the shipment.

It has been found that chopped glass fibers can be used although woven glass fibers or relatively long parallel glass fibers can also be used. The glass fibers preferably comprise approximately 30 to 40. per cent by weight. One of the reasons for using glass fibers is that they provide the necessary added strength and elasticity to the bracket. The polyester resin which serves primarily as a binder for the glass fibers not only functions to hold the glass fibers together but also helps to deaden the noises. The polyester resin used may for example be the reaction product of ethylene glycol with anhydride of maleic acid. This may further be compounded with approximately 20 per cent styrene monomer so as to produce a polystyrene resin.

It will be noted that the compressor mounting bracket extends from the frame to the mounting clips 20 which are attached to the outer ex- 3 tremities of the heat radiating fins rather than to the main compressor casing. By virtue of this construction the plastic mounting brackets are not subjected to excessively high temperatures. The rubber washers or grommets 26 further serve as heat insulating means between the plastic brackets 24 and the mounting clips 20.

By virtue of the above described construction and arrangement it is obvious that the compressor mounting means can be made much cheaper than the prior art compressor mounting means without in any way sacrificing any desirable properties of the prior art type of compressor mounting arrangements. In fact the mounting means shown herein has numerous advantages in addition to the cost advantages. Thus the mounting brackets need less space than the conventional coil spring and rubber buffers. They are more easy to assemble, improve the appearance of the assembly and have other advantages which are apparent from the inherent simplicity and strength of the straps made of glass fibers impregnated with resin.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In a refrigerator, a cabinet having a machinery compartment, a compressor within said machinery compartment, compressor mounting bracket means for supporting said compressor in said compartment, said mounting bracket means comprising a polystyrene plastic strap having glass fibers embedded therein and having the one end of the strap attached to said compressor and having its other end anchored in said compartment, said strap being relatively long and narrow so as to be able to absorb energy of the vibrations resulting from operation of the compressor.

2. A vibration insulating mounting for securing a compressor to a frame in a manner to minimize the transmission of vibrations from the compressor to the frame, comprising a plurality of c-shaped strap members formed of relatively long and narrow straps of resin impregnated fibrous material, means for attaching the ends of said bracket to the frame and compressor respectively, said last named means comprising resilient vibration insulating means formed of elastic material.

3. A sound deadening mounting bracket for supporting a vibrating compressor element or the like on a relatively stationary support comprising strap members made of resin impregnated fibrous material, each of said straps having one end thereof secured to said vibrating element and the other end thereof secured to said stationary support, said straps being of a length, width, and thickness as to absorb energy of the vibrations transmitted to one end of each of said straps by said vibrating element.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,671,280 Grifiith May 29, 1928 1,815,170 Summers July 21, 1931 2,064,009 Hull Dec. 15, 1936 2,352,591 Wallerstein, Jr June 27, 1944 2,428,654 Collins Oct. 7, 1947 2,437,962 Krapa Mar. 16,1948 2,524,226 Higham Oct. 3,1950 2,571,717 Howald Oct. 16, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 609,461 Great Britain Sept. 30, 1948 

